Thousands protest in Serb-dominated part of Bosnia

Several thousand people on Saturday gathered in an anti-government protest in a Serb-dominated part of Bosnia.

The protesters accused the ruling party of nationalist leader Milorad Dodik of crime and corruption.

No incidents were reported at the rally which was held in the central square in the northwestern town of Banja Luka.

The town's mayor who is an opposition leader, Drasko Stanivukovic, claimed that the demonstration was "a struggle against the private state," calling it "an uprising".

The opposition in the Serb part of Bosnia have accused the government of curbing media freedoms and democracy in the entity that comprises nearly half of the country.

Dodik has long insisted on the separation of the Serb-run areas of Bosnia from the rest of the country, while also maintaining  Serbian nationalist and pro-Russian views.